Pop quiz: Which former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year is (literally) a big fan of science, and this magazine in particular? That’s right, defensive end Hugh Douglas.

Recently, as part of an ongoing effort to playfully engage the public in science, he chatted with DISCOVER contributor Darlene Cavalier (who moonlights as the Science Cheerleader) and shared his thoughts on the Large Hadron Collider, spiral galaxies, ROS suppression, and more.